Seek The Darkness
by dustylibrarian
Summary: Takes place during Ptolemys Gate but with altered plotline. Nathaniel is engaged! But after two commoners are killed by the squad under his division threats to his life and his fiancees make for a tumultuous time...Meanwhile, the population grows weary of their government and barty runs into a hitch he never expected to encounter.
1. Chapter 1

Who am I?

At night Carissia Martin dreams of demons and awakes in tearful fright as images of people swim before her vision. Her mother always said she wasn't attached to this world, that her mind wandered from her body and floated to distant lands, leaving Cari with a blank stare. Perhaps it all worked out for the best, because Cari was here now, lying in a decadent suite, put together for her by John Mandrakes servants.

She awoke and shot up, greeted by a balmy summer night. She sighed before throwing the silken covers off and padding over to the window. The clock ticked three in the morning as she observed the darkened silhouette of Londons skyline. She glanced behind her to observe the enormous room furnished with ridiculously expensive vintage love seats and end tables. Nearly five bouquets were starting to wilt near her vanity, which was currently covered in boxes of outrageous diamond-studded necklaces and earrings. She sighed at the persistently flamboyant spending of her fiancée, yet she admitted to herself that John had indeed been exactly what she was looking for. With any luck he would replace the prime minister within the next year. Surely their wedding would be the best attended event of the century. She herself was no dunce, even held up next to the invincible John Mandrake. Cari Martin had quite nearly become a household name in London. Her eyes wandered to the latest issue of London Fashion Monthly magazine, her own face gazing back. The world at her feet and she still wanted to run. While she was still attending oxford and security was no concern she would fly across the pavement, streetlights flashing orange above her. The blanket of midnight endeavors and anonymity no longer covered her. Her legs twitched in protest, but she lay back down instead, choosing the morning tea date with Mandrake over the dull ache in her chest. She dreamt that the world was made of ether and all the things in it swayed gently, before wisping away into clouds of purple smoke. The lines of her body blurred and drifted away to join the rest of the misty mess.

"I hope you slept well."

Cari looked at the slender man acrost her, his legs elegantly crossed. She squinted in the brightness of the sun to make out his sharp features. The garden was quite sunny already, despite the early hour.

"Yes, certainly. I always sleep better here."

John nodded and blew on his tea. "Yes, well I do feel that you're safety is less…compromised here."

She grinned at him and nibbled at a biscuit. "Is that youre polite way of saying that you feel protective of me? Goodness, you'll make me blush." John flushed slightly red at his collar. Despite having known her six months, her frank disposition and charm still had its desired effect.

"at the very least I should make a meager attempt to make sure my fiancée is taken care of. Speaking of which, will I be picking you up for the gala tonight?" He cocked his head and took a sip of tea, clearly trying not to sound eager. This would their first event after having announced the engagement and he was yearning for the opportunity to introduce her as his own. She smiled from under her lashes and his ears went red.

"Ill be expecting you at eight sharp, Mr. Mandrake." She knew she had laid it on too thick, because he stumbled slightly getting up to escort her to a car. She left him with a burning kiss and slid into the car, giving the driver directions to pick up her dress.

Nathaniel was admittedly nervous when he went to pick her up. The gala for devareauxs birthday was the largest political gathering of the year, and the company would be overall harder to please than the frivolous museum openings and operas the two of them had attended. He had no concerns that his fiancée would come off as anything less than intellectual, but he fretted that the petty behavior and rude commentary of his fellow magicians would upset her. She was a gentle creature, like a deer gazing up at him with forest green eyes and long lashes. Though, he found himself surprised often by her tenacity. She joked that her small frame made her easy to underestimate and there was truth there. With a long neck and miniscule waist, she seemed ethereal at times. However, all his worries were wiped from his mind when he saw Cari step out onto the steps and flutter to the car. She wore a deep blue vintage gown that was collared at the neck and fluttered out at the bottom, displaying stemlike legs. She wore a pair of jade earrings he had given her, her engagement ring and one white flower in her hair. He jumped out of the car, realizing she was nearly to the car, he had been so busy gaping through the window. She glowed at him as he held the door open for her.

"I see chivalry is not dead after all." He looked down, standing nearly a head taller than her.

"The party of the year awaits you, Ms. Martin. I hope youll be joining me in refreshments. It's the only way I get through these things." He slid into the car after her and shut the door behind him. When they arrived, Nathaniel was one glass of champagne in and apathetic to the hordes of vicious people that awaited them. With Cari at his side, he felt happier than he had ever been in his entire life.

* * *

Cari was more miserable than she had ever been in her entire life. The opportunities for decent conversation were incredibly limited. Most of the magicians were pleasant enough to her, but she sensed that they didn't want to discuss themselves or anything relating to themselves whatsoever. The intensive secrecy narrowed down appropriate topics considerably. She found herself discussing the construction of a new bridge in west London, along with varieties of tea popular in high society. She excused herself from John to powder her nose, but ended up sitting in a stall to breathe for a while. When she returned, John had already grabbed her a glass of wine, much to her displeasure, seeing as she had either been misplacing hers or quietly pouring them in the trash. The ballroom swelled with company and the prime minister began making his rounds, his face reddening as the whiskey in his glass dwindled.

"john, how have the scouts been going? Heaven knows, we haven't heard a peep from the rebels in two years, I'd say it as a miracle if I didn't know we owe it to you." Cari didn't get to hear Mandrakes reply as the ceiling was torn apart by several massive detonations.


	2. Chapter 2

Hello good peoples! So brace yourselves, because there is a torrent of action and adventure coming right up. I will try to keep up with it, I've never really delved into writing action sequences, but bear with me! Please review, and in case of emergencies,

 _Keep calm and summon Bartimaeus_

 _Chapter two_

The last twenty four hours had been quite a blur. Needless to say, the attack had been a blatant threat and response to Mandrakes recent scouts and the murder of a rebel the previous month. After being dragged away from the ballroom and pushed into car by Mandrake, she had been forced to wait for several hours before he returned, sooty faced and exhausted. The attack had been assumed to be the work of more than one rebel, and though one of them had been caught, he had died before any information was extricated. So now, a group of several armed and vengeful rebel fighters were running around London, looking to harm her fiancée. A blood war had begun, he reported to her sadly. With two commoners dead in the hands of magicians, London grew more discontent by the minute. John who was taking his own precautions, was quite preoccupied with the safety of his fiancé. She now sat in his office, watching him draw pentacles madly, muttering and cursing to himself.

"Damn it all, I don't have a choice. No choice, I tell you. Theres no one else. God, there must be another way…" She crossed her arms and tried not to fuss over him, there was clearly no dissuading him from doing whatever he was about to do. When he finished he stood up and dusted chalk off his hands.

"Listen Cari, I need you to leave the room for just a little while, just in case anything goes wrong. Ill call you back in a few minutes, ok?" she kissed him on the cheek before exiting. She was about to pick up a magazine when he called her back in. She was surprised to see he was not alone. An Egyptian boy stood in the opposite pentacle. Mandrake was pulling at his hair and looked tense.

"Bartimaeus, this is Carissia Martin. I charge you to guard and protect her at all times and defend her life with your own should the need arise." He droned on, but Cari wasn't listening. The hairs on her arms were standing straight up and the room was filled with a pulsing energy, she could feel it pulsing like bass pushes at the floorboards of a club. Her heart beat quickly and she stared openly at the demon child, acknowledging now that the source of the energy was him. The boy cocked his head and turned to look at her, his eyes pitch black, devoid of all light. She found him strangely beautiful and stepped forward. His eyes met hers and she felt her body shudder involuntarily. Perhaps it was morbid curiousity or the magic being practiced, but her chest suddenly felt like it was pulling forward towards the demon and her heart missed several beats, thumping so loudly she was sure everyone in the room could hear. Transfixed in a reverie, she hadn't noticed that the demon had also stepped towards her and there was a loud snapping noise that echoed in the room as he cursed and turned back to Mandrake.

"bartimaeus! Hello? What are you doing? I'm not done with the binding."

"well get on with it then, my essence is already itching just looking at you. At the very least you've lopped off that greasy mane. Though I see the preening habits die hard." The boy growled, as Mandrake turned a blotchy pink and removed his hand from his hair. he completed a few more incantations and stepped out of his pentacle.

"Right, I've got about a million things to do and five meetings today alone. Cari, let me know if he…well, just let me know when you're ready for me to give him the shriveling fire. Unfortunately the protection comes at the price of his personality."

The demon put a hand on it's hip. "same could be said for you, johnny boy. I see you finally grew out your skintight suit, or did it rip when you bent over?"

Mandrake flushed. Cari tried not to snort with laughter and her nose tickled as a result, but the demon went on.

"So whats this all about then? Charging me to protect some random chick? Did someone break in and steal Makepeaces pantyhose? You know, itd be a national scandal if anyone found out that he's moonlighting as the lead female in his plays. Or am I just casting my own suspicions here?"

Mandrake was clearly becoming irritated with the djinni, which had swaggered over to the desk and sat down, knocking over papers as he kicked his feet up. Cari strode over, her frank boldness returning after being startled by the foreign entity and intense spark of magic that crackled in the air.

"actually I'm not a random chick, I'm his fiancée. Im assuming you are Bartimaeus, or do you prefer sakhr-al-jinni?"

The demon gave a little kick of surprise and Mandrake made a noise in his throat as papers went flying off the desk.

"Aha! She reads!" The djinni now fixed depthless dark eyes on her, possibly intending to make her skin crawl, for when he did the same to John, his eyes flickered and darted away. Yet she found herself feeling warm and he broke eye contact before she did. She quietly congratulated herself on her bravery, seeing as this was her first real encounter with a spirit.

"hardly, I simply think it relevant to brush up on some light history. I am engaged to a magician after all." She decided not to mention the strange obsession she had as a young girl, poring over hundreds of books about magic, learning latin and Arabic and ancient languages solely to translate text that carried threads of information on the magical entities. When her mother had found stacks of books about magic under her bed, she had- well, she had been livid.

She turned to Mandrake, who seemed less uncomfortable, perhaps made at ease by her own lack of apprehension. He adjusted his collar.

"Yes, she is sensible in these matters. Cari, I think you can manage this abrasive creature for the next week or so,yes? I'm going to be extremely busy, but if anything happens, or…well, call me anytime. I'll always make time for you." Bartimaeus made a retching noise behind them and John shot him a poisonous glare before softening his gaze and turning back to Cari.

"I'll be quite all right, I'm more than capable of handling myself." She stood on tiptoe to kiss his lower cheek and briefly realized how enormous he must have seemed next to her, towering over her tiny frame. Suddenly the distance and difference in size made her feel quite cold towards him. His cheeks turned red where she had kissed him. He cleared his throat and made to leave.

"Be careful. I'll let you know how things go."

She turned her eyes up to him and played with his collar, looking up at him through dark lashes. She felt his body tremble under her gaze and she smiled.

"Don't you worry one minute about me. Go save the world, John Mandrake." She slid her arms around his neck and reached up to softly press her own lips to his. His stature shortened slightly as his knees began to buckle. When she withdrew herself once again, he was a flushed sweaty mess. He straightened his tie before rushing out the door. Her girlish charms disappeared and left the air stale. She gathered herself, forced a smile to grace her lips and walked to the window to wave goodbye as the black car glinted down the driveway. After he had turned off the street the curve of her lips slid off and left her impassive as the curtain fell from her hand.

"Well then, you have quite the effect on my dear master, I don't think I've ever seen him quite that jumped up. Well, maybe when Whitwell gave him a compliment, but I can't really see him pashing that sack of bones. "

She did not turn from the window.

"What can I say, we have chemistry."

"oh yeah? Couldn't help but notice that he doesn't hold quite the same spell over you. Or have I misjudged entirely? I certainly don't see you panting and blushing. But hey, I'm just a creepy onlooker."

She had no response.

 _Bartimaeus_

Me, Bartimaeus, the great sakhr-al-jinni, sentenced with the protection of tiny wisp of the girl that had Mandrakes heart in a vice. I was feeling rather shirked, though the girl admittedly had a strange aura about her.(1) This, and her blatant fearlessness of a powerful magical being such as myself put me on edge. She gave no response to my goading and sighed instead, turning from the window and strutting out of the office. I jumped up from my lounging position.

"Hey! Hold it, I'm your bloody guardian, you cant just go running off." I followed her into the room down the hall, where she began to gather her things.

"I'm not running off wherever, I have things to do. And isn't part of being my guardian following me around?"

Ptolemy narrowed his eyes.

"Yeah well, just because whatever you do fits the job description doesn't necessarily mean I'm going to start jumping for joy, missy. Lets just keep in mind that you do not have the ability to keep my quiet. I'm not just gonna tuck up into that suitcase and wait for you to get attacked by the next riot starting jump-up-"

"yes, that much is becoming very obvious. Its not like I'm hurrying down any dark alleyways anytime soon. Besides, I may not have the ability to coerce your silence, but you certainly don't have the ability to stop me from going anywhere, do you?"

Bugger, she had me there.

"well, technically if you were going to cause harm unto yourself I could."

She slung a purse over her shoulder, picked up her suitcase and clipped on out.

"if I'm being perfectly frank, I think I've gotten the short end of the stick, I'm being followed by a mouthy djinni for the next week."

I skipped ahead to fall in step with her, the small girl somehow seeming petite even next to ptolemys form. "oh, and why's that so terrible? Trying to head somewhere you shouldn't be going? I mean, I'm sure Mandrake trusts you enough that he wouldn't force me to inform him of your whereabouts…."

She rolled her eyes and pushed the front door open.

"Oh please, try harder. Besides, why should you care, aren't your masters all great punishers in the end anyways? Or do you have feelings for him too? Please do confess, I wouldn't want to get in the way of a wrathful and jealous spirit." She smirked at me as a car pulled up and she slid into the backseat. I blew a raspberry and followed suit.

"Trust me, if you'd seen him three years ago youd be so far from that notion, youd probably drop your things right now and head out for the opposite end of the world.(2) And despite the burning hatred I carry for all magicians, I cant help engage in a little drama. Id have to be blind not to notice how very tightly you have my master wrapped around your finger." She appeared entirely nonchalant, whipping out a compact mirror to touch up her lipstick, which was presumably smeared onto Nats face now.

"you know, I don't actually have any desire to discuss the details of my love life with you, or anyone else for that matter, contrary to the belief of every rabid reporter in a five mile radius." I observed and she didn't seem to swell with pride at this statement. It would have been a pretty desperate bid for attention though if she was shacking up with Mandrake solely for the spotlight. The prospect was doubtful.

"That's reasonable, I wouldn't want to talk about him either. Hell, you're the one marrying him. Yeah, hold on, youre marrying that scrawny little prat! No, see, I strongly believe there is some sort of motivation behind this, no one would touch that clammy twit with a ten foot stick if there wasn't something in it for them." She made an exasperated noise.

"Not discussing my love life includes you weighing in on the validity of my sentiment. I understand entirely that you're having trouble wrapping your mind around this, but you see, when two people love each other very much-"

"Ugh, stop. I'm retiring from the peanut gallery."

"Oh, get your mind out of the gutter, I was just going to say 'they get married.'"

"Yeah, I know, what were you-" we both paused as I realized she had thought I was referring to…more intimate relations between the two of them.

"Yeeaggghhhhhh! Geeacchhhh, that is horrible! Change the subject, god!"

"The sentiment is shared," she said solemnly.

(1) By strange, I mean the coloring. Typically people had one color to their aura, and on the very rare occasion it was bi-colored the colors were rarely the feisty combination she bore. The inner part of her aura was a deep violet that stretched into blazing crimson, far deeper and stronger colors than most.

(2) Here I infer to the skintight suit, lacy cuffs and shaggy mane Nat was sporting at the time. Admittedly, I missed the handkerchief. I really think it helped disguise his shrunken chest. Oh well.


End file.
